Hi, thought I’d do something different today and do a Video Blog (or Vlog as they are called).

Enjoy!

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Congratulations!  You’ve now thought about keywords and should be beginning to see the impact they can have on your online success.  But doing the research is only half the puzzle — now you have to use them. 

The first step is to review of your list of potential keywords  and keyword phrases and pick the one or two, but no more than three, of them to target.  You may have a list of 25 potentially dynamite keywords, but you cannot effectively go after all of them at once.  For each keyword or keyword phrase, think about how you would use it in a headline or sentence.  Sometimes keywords pop up that have a decent number of searches and almost no competition — because they are almost impossible to use in regular language.  You can choose to target those — but understand that it will make your job just that much tougher.

Before you do anything else, pull up a Google search box and type in the keywords or keyword phrases you have chosen.  Make note of the top ten results.  You want to be one of them within the next 60 to 90 days (or sooner).

Now get to work on your copy.  If you have a traditional website, ideally, all three keywords will appear on your website’s home page:  include all of your keywords at the top of the page; put at least one keyword or phrase in a headline or a subhead; at least one or possibly even two of your keywords or phrases should be in the first paragraph of the page; and make sure you add at least one in the last paragraph of the page.  If you can make the targeted phrase a logical hyperlink to another page in your site, Google will give you bonus points in your search rankings.  Note:  Make sure your keywords are in text, not artwork.  If your headlines and subheads are graphics and not text, Google may ignore them.

Make sure you include one, two, or all three of your targeted keywords in your page’s title and meta description and of course, include them in your web headers as meta keywords.  You can target different keywords on different pages of your website if each page is indexed separately.  That may be a little advanced for a basic website, but it’s something to keep in mind.

If you are using a WordPress or other blog format as your platform instead of a traditional website, you will want to make sure that each post has one or two keywords in it and that your targeted keywords are included as Categories and Post Tags.   If you have added an SEO plug-in for your WordPress blog, make sure you include your targeted keywords in your Title and Meta Description.

But don’t stop with your website or blog.  Now go into every directory your site has been listed in and re-write the description to include your keywords.  Pull up your profiles in LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook and add your keywords.  Begin a concentrated, targeted online campaign emphasizing those keywords.  Try to use those targeted keywords in your Twitter updates, on your Facebook wall, in articles submitted to article directories, and in press releases.  Add your website or blog to different social bookmarking sites and include your keywords in your profiles.

Finally, set up Google alerts to track your keywords or keyword phrases.  As you start to use the phrases more and more, you should start to see your site or marketing efforts pop up.  This will give you an idea of where Google is recognizing the phrase and you can adjust your copy or marketing efforts accordingly.

Give it a shot.  I would love to hear your success stories in a couple months.

Here’s to your success,

Trina

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OK, so you have your list of potential keywords or keyword phrases that you think searchers may type into a search engine to find you, and you know what your competitors are using.  Now you need to evaluate those keywords to find the one or two that will be most effective toward moving you toward online success. 

This is the part of the process where a good software program, like the full version of WordTracker or Market Samurai, really comes in handy.  But if you only have one or two websites and you only do this process occasionally (which you should update your research every 6 months or so because phrases go in and out of popularity), then you can get good results by using the free Google keyword tool.

So surf over to https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal. This is Google’s free keyword tool and it is the model on which all other tools are based.  Google is currently Beta testing a new interface, which I don’t use because they limit your results to the top 100 keywords. As you’ll see, in really competitive niches, I will often look at 300 or more keywords and phrases, so the new interface makes it a pain.  So for now, if I’m going to use Google, I immediately click on the link at the upper right hand side of the page that says “Previous Interface.”  

Once I’m there, here’s the basic process that I have found works for me and my clients:

         1)  Select the second choice “website content” in the first section. 

         2)  Type in your website address in the search box and hit “get keyword ideas.”    This will create a list of what keywords Google is currently associating   with your site.  It’s not unusual to see some phrases that really don’t apply.

         3) For each “section” go to the bottom and hit the “add all” link.  This will create a  list of selected keywords in the right hand bar.

         4)  Compare this generated list with the list you created on your own.  Add any missing phrases to your list by scrolling down to the bottom and hitting the “Add Your Own Keywords.”

CAUTION:  DO NOT EDIT the list at this time.  Even if some of the phrases are just wacky, don’t remove them yet because they’ll just get added back in.

         5)  Once you’ve completed this list, hit the “Get more related keywords” box.   This will automatically move those keywords into the “get keyword ideas” box at the top of the page.  Type in the Captcha and hit “get keyword ideas.”

         6)  Go to the bottom of each section and add any new keyword ideas to your selected keyword list.  Again, don’t edit, just add. 

         7)  Repeat this process until very few new keywords come up – often takes 3 to 5 repeats.  You should now have a list of 200 to 300 or more potential keywords.

         Once you are satisfied that you’ve gotten more keyword ideas than you could possibly use hit the “get more related keyword ideas” one last time.  This time, though, go through the list in the top box and delete any obviously non-relevant words or phrases.  

         9)  Once you’ve edited your list, click on “Filter my results.”  Select the box that says “don’t show new ideas, give me data on my selected keywords” and then hit “Get Keyword Ideas.”

         10) NOW is when you really start to edit and refine.   Click on “Global Search Volume” heading.  This will sort the results according to volume.  Everyone is different, and your actual numbers will depend on your target audience, but I typically will remove every word or phrase that has more than 150,000 searches per month.  Those words and phrases are just going to be too competitive and it’s going to be almost impossible to get ranked for them, at least in the short-term. I then usually scroll down to the bottom and look at the phrases that say “Not Enough Data.”  I will remove all of these, too.  (Now, you are removing them from your list on the right hand side, not from the results box.  If it’s too confusing, you can go ahead and repeat steps 5, 8-9 to get rid of the phrases in the main results box.)

        11)  Find the box at the top of the results that says “Match Type.”  Change the selection to “Phrase.”  You’ll see the number of searches change.

        12)  Then you can start to evaluate the keywords and phrases you have left.  Look at the Advertiser Competition column.  Solid green means the phrase is very competitive, that alot of other sites are targeting those same words.  The gold is in the phrases that are NOT solid green, so start with those.

        13)  Now is when it gets fun.  Open up a new tab in your browser and open up a Google search box.  Type the phrase:  allintitle: followed by the search term you are interested in within quotes e.g.  allintitle: “divorce rules Ohio”.

        14) When the search results come up, look at the top right hand side of the page.   There will be “Results 1 of XXXXXX sites.”  This is the number of competing sites for that particular keyword or phrase.

         15)  Do this with every potential keyword phrase.  As you pull up the results, look at the sites that come up.  If Google is pulling up well-established competitive sites, it’s going to be hard to compete.  However, if the Google results are Wikipedia, and Ezinearticles.com, and directory listings, then, even though there may be more than 50,000 competing websites, they could be “soft” competitors and there is opportunity for you to dominate the phrase with an aggressive SEO campaign.

        16)  Create a spreadsheet that shows you the phrase, number of global searches, and number of competing websites.  You may also want to make a note of the top 3 or top 5 search results.  Look at the data.  Though there is no hard and fast rule, it is a common theory that the “sweet spot” for SEO is a search term or phrase that gets at least 2,400 global searches per month and has less than 50,000 competing sites. With dedicated SEO promotion, a site can often appear on the first page of Google results of a sweet spot term in less than 30 days.  If you’ve got one or two keywords that fall into that category, congratulations, you are on your way to online success.  Keep this data and compare the results in 6 months.

Congratulations, you’ve just learned the basics on how to conduct keyword research.  Next week, we’ll look at what to do once you have your target keywords selected.

Here’s to your success,

 Trina

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PART I of Three-Part Series:  Finding Your Keywords

The key to getting your site or profile found in an online search is keywords.  Period.  Whether it’s on Google or Bing, or even LinkedIn or Twitter, what words you use and how you use them will have a major impact on your results and ultimately, your online success.

Choosing the “right” keywords is part art, part science.   There are dozens of programs out there that will generate words and phrases for you.  I’ve used WordTracker, Market Samurai, and Good Keywords, in addition to the very accessible free Google Keyword Tool.  They all have their flaws and their biases.  But like so many programs, the outcome is only as good as the input.  “Garbage in, garbage out” as the saying goes.

The place you have to start is getting into the mind of your potential site visitor.  What words or phrases would they type into a search box if they were specifically looking for you but didn’t know your company name?  I don’t mean to burst anyone’s bubble, but few people with any sort of search engine experience will type in just “dentist” if they are looking for a new family dentist.  I know, I know, I hear you.  “But Trina, Google says “dentist” was searched 13,000,000 times last month.”  It was.  And those people received in their results the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Wikipedia, the ADA, and many directories for dentists.  Plus the local results for Google maps.  If you truly wanted to compete on the word “dentist” then concentrate on getting listed in the right directories, and get a listing on Google maps, don’t try to use the phrase as the keyword on your website.  It is more likely your ideal new patient would type in Dentist Clintonville or Dentist Clintonville Ohio, which had 36 searches.

So the first step is to create a list of all the phrases you “think” a visitor would type if they were looking for you, your products or your services.  Think of phrases that are 2 to 3, even 4 words long.  If you take a common phrase and narrow it, you’ve created a “long-tail keyword.”  Long-tail keywords are going to bring you lots more of targeted, specific traffic than the general, short-tail keywords.  An example of a short-tail keyword phrase would be “family dentist.”  “Family dentist Columbus Ohio” would be an example of a long-tail keyword. 

The next step, if you are running Google Analytics on your site (which you should), go to Traffic Sources report section and look at the list of keywords in the right hand column.  Click on the “View Full Report” under the list to see all of the phrases people have been typing and ended up on your site.  Aren’t you amazed at the variety?  I know I am.

The third step is one that many people skip.  Take a look at your competition.  Type in the phrases you think people are using, and the ones you pulled off Google Analytics into a Google search box (or Yahoo, or Bing, it doesn’t really matter) and then click on all of the competitors.   Put your cursor somewhere on the page near the top but under the header and right click.  Select “View Source” and up pops their site coding.  Near the top, you should see their meta tags.  Look for “meta name = keywords” and then copy down all the words and phrases they are using.  Then go back to their site and read their home page, looking for those words or phrases.  Make a note of how many times each phrase appears.  Now, it’s true.  Some sites will have 20 keywords in their tags, and only 2 of them show up in their text.   That’s not good optimization, but who am I to judge?  Now, with most blogs, it’s a different story, but that’s for another day.

You’ll now have a list of what you think people search for, and what your competition thinks people search for.  Next week, I’ll review what to do next.

So, what tricks or tips do you have to find the “right” keywords?  Do you believe your keyword selection is contributing to your online success?  If you’re willing to share, please let me know.

Until next week,

Here’s to your success,

Trina

P.S.  Yep, you guessed it.  I’m going to be offering a seminar in July:  “The Key is Keywords.”  Details are being worked out now.  Stay tuned.

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Adventures in Uncovering the Mysteries of Facebook Demographic Targeting

If you are at all in tune with the world of social media, you probably heard about all the changes Facebook has been making the past couple weeks.  One of the big changes is that Facebook   is going to start aggregating the data from all the websites you “like” on the web and is going to make that data available to marketers.

Now, wearing my small business consultant and marketer hat, I’m absolutely drooling at the possibilities of being able to talk to exactly who I want as a customer.  But wearing my advocate of privacy and “no one needs to know that I sometimes visit certain celebrity blogs” hat, I’m leery.

But Facebook already has an awesome database available for marketers.  And my clients and I are proof.  I was working with a client on Friday who showed me the ad she had put out on Facebook last week.  She is selling a customized Sham-moo Shammy package (very similar to the as-seen-on-TV ShamWow) as a promotional give-away for companies like car dealers, marinas, motor home manufacturers, and car enthusiasts.  She had very wisely targeted men in certain age categories, in certain professions, and with certain hobbies.  In about 2 days, she had garnered 161 clicks through to her website but no sales.  But she is only spending $.32 per click, so it wasn’t outrageously expensive.    I suggested some changes to her ad and to her conversion page, and showed her how to get a code for $50 in free Facebook ad credits, and she’ll be running it again this week.

But as we were working on her Facebook page, an ad popped up for a set of exercise CDs.  We commented on how eye-catching the ad was and I said I had never seen it before.  She said she sees it every day and then said, “I think I get it because my husband and I go dancing.”  Wow.  A consumer who knows why they are being targeted.   A few minutes later, it was for a fat-burning muffin.  A little bit later, we noticed an ad for a nutritional supplement.  So on a whim, we pulled up her profile.  Sure enough, among her interests are dancing and health.

Later that evening, I got on Facebook.  And on my home page, I have an ad, no, not for an exercise CD, not for a nutritional supplement, nothing nearly so healthy.  My ad is for Oscar Mayer hotdogs.  Oscar Mayer?    The next ad that pops up is for Taylor-made golf clubs.  That makes sense, I like to golf.  Then an ad for a bouquet of flowers appears.  Ok, I have a mom and it is Mother’s Day next week.  The next ad is for real estate funding.  Great targeting because I dabble in real estate investing and am connected to lots of real estate folks. 

And then another Oscar Mayer ad, this one touting a contest to get a ride in the Wienermobile.  Oh No!  How did they know?   Is it possible that Oscar Mayer somehow has a record of everyone who has ever ridden in the Wienermobile  (which I did in 2001 – see!). 

Never thought anyone would ever find out

 Did they somehow share that information with Facebook?  Believe me, there is nothing in my profile that screams hotdog lover.  Or is there?

Let’s see, I don’t have k ids, so that’s not it.  I’m female. Females tend to do the household shopping. So they may just be targeting females of a certain age.  I love golf, reading, and … Cleveland Indians baseball.  Ah, could it be the baseball?  Nothing else really makes sense.  It has to be that they are either targeting females, people who like baseball, or maybe even females who like baseball.  Or they might just be excluding people with healthy activities and lifestyles.  Whew, at least I think my secret fascination with the Wienermobile hasn’t been leaked, yet.

But the moral of the story:  if you are getting ads that don’t seem to be targeted to you, you may want to look at your profile and figure out why.  Then think about your product or service and try to come up with characteristics that would be shared by the majority of your target audience.   How could you get an ad in front of them?  There is going to be so much data available, it’ll be your own fault if you are talking to the wrong people.

As always, if you need help defining your ideal customer or other marketing needs, just let me know by dropping an email to SuccessPointConsulting@hotmail.com.

Here’s to your success,

Trina

P.S.  Heather Tapia’s Abundance Marketing Pro series continues tonight (Monday, May 3) at 6:30 p.m. at Raisin Rack in Westerville. Tonight’s topic:  Creating a Plan of Action.  Should be great.  Check it out.

P.S.S.  Most of you have heard, but just in case you haven’t — I’m now the Columbus Business Events Examiner for Examiner.com.  Send me your press releases and event announcements and I’ll do what I can to get your events promoted and reviewed.  Also looking for event-support types of news, like venues, caterers, DJs, event planners.  It’s gonna be fun!

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One of my tasks as a small business consultant is to keep up with best practices in different fields, like online marketing, so I can better advise my clients on what they might consider doing.  So this week, I’ve been studying Twitter, trying to figure out how the best of the best make it happen.  So I began following Ashton Kutcher and CNN.  And I have to admit, I have been amused, intriqued, and entertained far beyond what I was expecting.  I also started checking out all the Twitter analysis sites, like Twitter Grader, Twitter Analyzer, Tweet Stats, Twitter Stats, Twitter Counter.  I put in all kinds of queries, and viewed a lot of Twitter feeds, both personal and business.

I can’t say this is definitive, but as I review my notes, I think I have identified seven things businesses, both big and small, should do on Twitter to make it a more successful platform.

1.  Target a niche, talk to that niche, develop a niche.  So I started research this week at Dell.  I was fascinated by fact that Dell has 34 Twitter accounts, each aimed at a specific market.  Now that’s smart marketing. And each account only follows other Dell accounts — Dell Twitter managers do not read anyone else’s Tweets, except other Dell Tweets.  But between all the accounts, they have over 1.5 million followers.  Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t need to know what coupons Dell is offering on what accessories every day, but apparently a lot of other people do.  But each Dell Tweet account manager develops their own following and interacts with their own audience.  They are all different.    

2.  Another lesson from Dell is to use Twitter as a customer service tool.  A lot of the Dell Twitter managers (most of whom are happily pictured on their account pages) have running dialog with customers about back-ordered inventory, end dates of sales, how to special order items, and other customer service issues.  It’s very much like a public live chat.  But it does demonstrate Dell’s willingness to engage and reflects well on their customer service philosophy.  I definitely have a stronger feeling of trust in Dell after reading their Tweets.  That’s an effective use of the platform. 

3.  Have a mix of offers, information, replies, and personal Tweets.  Don’t just Tweet “about” your business, throw some offers out there.  Don’t just send people to other blogs or articles, Tweet about your own business and send them to your own website or blog.  If a customer or client asks a question, respond.  Ask your customers questions and ask for feedback.  It’s OK to have some personal Tweets (just got off the plane in Orlando) but there has to be more if you are presenting yourself as a business.  Mention other people, reTweet, reply.  The more you mix it up, the more engaged your followers become in you and  your brand.

4.  Do not use one of the standard Twitter backgrounds — make your own.  Make it professional, make it reflect your brand and your personality.  I find it odd that I’m recommending this, because really, you mostly see your Tweetstream’s Tweets, not their pages, but as I was researching, I could almost tell if I was going to be impressed by their Tweet activity the second I pulled up their profile.  And most of it was the first impression of the page background. And of course, it goes without saying that you MUST have a photo or logo, not one of the ugly Twitter default icons.

5.  Include photos and videos. The most influential Tweeters use a lot of photos and link to a lot of videos.  It adds interest, it gives the reader a fuller idea of who and what you are about.

6.  Make your profile description match your activity.  If your profile says you are a small business consultant, your Tweets should be about small business things — not ceramics.  If you say you are a mortgage banker, I expect to see Tweets about the financial markets, or home sales, or government regulations, not puppy housebreaking.  Oh sure, throw a couple Tweets out there about your personal struggles with the next Marley, but if that’s all you are going to Tweet about, then make it a personal Twitter account and don’t expect to drive business.

7.  Mention your Twitter handle in all your other online activities and drive people to Twitter to follow you.  Once I found some Twitter accounts I liked, I went to their Facebook, their LinkedIn, their websites, anywhere I could, to see how they were promoting their Twitter activity.  And it turns out that the ones I liked were promoting it a lot.  SO, you can find me on Twitter as @SuccessPointer.  Go ahead, follow me.  I’ll try to engage some of you in conversation. 

That’s Twitter.com/SuccessPointer.

It’s pretty clear that there are no hard and fast rules to using Twitter as professional networking tool, but I think incorporating these 7 characteristics into your Tweets will help make it as effective as possible for your small business.

Here’s to your success,

Trina

P.S. 

  Heather Tapia’s Why2 How2 Abundance Marketing series starts TONIGHT at 6:00 p.m. at Raisin Rack in Westerville.  For more information and to register, go to http://AbundanceMarketingPro.eventbrite.com

P.S.S.  Registration continues for SPEED NETWORKING, coming May 18th at The Meeting Place.  Go to Gemstone Partners to officially register.  It’s going to be fun.  Also, if you have a book, a discount, a do-dah of some sort that you would like to donate as a Door Prize for the event, let me know!  I love to promote my friends and their businesses.

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Okay.  First things first.  You ARE getting Google Alerts every time your small business is mentioned on the web, aren’t you?  If you’re not, get with it.    It is an awesome tool that can make increasing the online visibility of your small business online so much easier.  (Side note: I’m talking about the real Google.com/alert, not the commercial googlealert.com.  I don’t know the commercial version, only the free Google service.) Basically, you ask Google to troll the web for you, looking for specific keywords or your company name.  Every time a Google bot finds what you requested, it captures the page and sends it to you.  You can choose to have it sent “as it happens,” which means immediately upon the bot finding it, once a day, or weekly.  Your own site isn’t included in the results, nor are Tweets or Facebook mentions at this time, but those will be coming soon. 

Google Alerts are great for finding out when you are mentioned on someone else’s blog, or in an article, or in an Answer in LinkedIn.  If you are submitting press releases to dozens of press release services, Google Alerts can give you exactly which services are distributing your releases, and which aren’t.  You’ll know what sites are promoting you.  It’s the easiest way to create a file of your online press clippings I’ve found.  It’s also a great tool for monitoring who is talking about your competitors, what blogs are actively talking about your areas of interest, and catching any negative reviews or bad-mouthing before it goes viral.

But what I have found with many small business owners that I consult with is that they set up Google Alerts, they get the email from Google every day or every week, they open it up, say, “Oh goody, my press release was published,” and go on with their day.

Wrong.

You got the information, now DO SOMETHING with it.  For instance, if a press release about your small business’ upcoming event was published by one of the online news agencies, go to the site, capture the URL, and send a tweet announcing you’ve been mentioned.  Don’t stop there.  Submit the URL to Digg, Redd It, StumbleUpon, and every other social bookmarking site you participate in.  Go to a couple forums and say, “Hey, PRNews just published our press release.”  Update your wall on Facebook, submit a little news items to each of your LinkedIn groups.   

I suggested this plan of action to a client and she responded with “Why should I promote their blog?  Aren’t I just sending traffic to them instead of to me?”  I had to pause for a second.  But really, why wouldn’t I want to promote a blog that is talking about my business?  Sure, I’m making an effort to make that blog successful, but I think that’s OK.  If that site publishes a mention about your small business, and their site viewership increases, what are the chances they will be interested in publishing the next release you send, or mentioning your small business again?  Pretty good, I’d say.

But Google Alerts can be used for so much more.  For instance, if you are a graphic designer looking for a new project, you can set up a Google Alert to look for “graphic designer wanted.”  You’ll get an Alert that has combed through Monster, Careerbuilder, Elance, GoBig, and other sites and condensed it down to a daily digest of potential projects.  so much easier and more convenient that going through each site separately.  It can work for just about any job or project search.  I’ve used it to identify companies who are actively looking for an online marketing consultant. 

Think about the topics you want to know about on a regular basis and create an Alert.  You’ll be amazed at how much information you get so easily.  I have found in my small business consulting practice that my topic research for certain clients has been cut to almost nothing because Google is doing it for me and delivering it right to my inbox.  It’s like having an intern doing your research and just presenting you with a summary of the latest news.  How cool is that?

I’m curious about how you use Google Alerts.  Please leave your comments below.

And as always, if I can help you create an online or offline marketing plan or help you get your business growing and moving toward your success point, please call me at (614) 753-5979 or email me at SuccessPointConsulting@hotmail.com.  I would be honored to help.

Here’s to your success,

Trina

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In talking with small business owners who are struggling to find success, I am often struck by how strongly they resist change.  In my role as small business consultant, I seem to have to bite my tongue at least twice a day so I don’t blurt out that Dr. Phil one-liner, “So, how’s that working for you?”  I try to listen, give constructive suggestions, and try not to over-promise on how I can help their small business grow, but it’s so hard when I see what great potential there is with offline relationship-building techniques complemented by online social networks and online marketing techniques, and so many small business owners don’t.

Take the insurance agent I recently met.  He has been a small business owner selling property/casualty/health insurance for almost 12 years.  The past 2 years have been the hardest of his career.  He is struggling to find new business.  Where does he currently get most of his clients?  The majority of new business comes from a half-page ad he runs annually in three yellow page-type directories, but the phone doesn’t ring as much anymore.  The other main source of new business are leads he gets from his parent insurance company.  Where do those leads come from?  Those leads are people doing online searches, of course, not people looking in the yellow pages.  Lightbulbs coming on, anyone?

Does he have a website?  Yeah, the one the company put up for him almost 5 years ago – and it’s never been updated, at least not by him.  Does he promote it?  Not really.  Ever think about a blog? No, too time-consuming.  ”Are you on LinkedIn?” I asked.  ”I think so,” was the reply.  I looked him up.  Yeah, he has an incomplete profile and only 12 connections.   Facebook? That’s for kids.  Twitter?  Doesn’t get it.

“So what steps are you taking to encourage your current clients to refer more business to you?” I asked.   Nothing systematic, it turns out.  I didn’t have my laptop with me at Panera, but if I had, I would have made him sit through THIS VIDEO right then and there.  Ah, live and learn.  He got a follow-up email from me AND a thank you greeting card is on the way, so he’ll be exposed to the information that can literally turn his current customers into a dynamic referral machine.  Will he take action?

“What networking events do you regularly attend?”  None.  He used to be involved in the local Chamber, but not now.  I suggested a couple groups that he may want to check out, but he has young kids so evenings are spent at home.  Some of these groups meet in the morning or over lunch.  No enthusiasm.  I don’t want to say the guy was negative, but I think all he could see was the desperation of shrinking business, not the excitement of growth.  But he’s not willing, right now anyway, to hire me to help him.  The pain isn’t great enough — yet.

On my way home from my meeting with him, I was listening to a CD I had gotten a couple years ago from my good friends, Dave and Linda Brincks, of ActionCoach International, entitled 6 Steps to a Better Business, featuring ActionCoach founder Brad Sugars.

One of the things Brad talked about was overcoming resistance to change.  (Sidenote: I once said I wanted to be like Brad Sugars when I grow up.  I still do.  He imparts a lot of common sense.)  Turns out, there’s an actual scientifically-proven mathematical formula that governs when an organization – either an individual, small business, or even the largest corporation or government in the world — overcomes resistance to change.  It was actually introduced back in the 1970s by corporation efficiency expert Peter Drucker and then mathematically proven by the team of Gleicher, Beckhard & Harris in the late 1980s.

Anyway, the formula is stated something like this:

Dissatisfaction + Vision + Action > Resistance to change

Basically, in order to overcome the resistance to change, there has to be a certain level of dissatisfaction, often rising to the level of actual pain, the small business owner wants to alleviate. But pain is not enough.  The small business owner will continue to do what he or she has always done despite the pain unless there is also a vision of what their business can look like after the pain is removed.  That’s where a business consultant like me can help.  I help refine, or maybe even completely define, the vision.  But envisioning the result is not enough.  There has to be action.  Meeting with me may have been my insurance agent prospect’s first step.  But he doesn’t yet have the vision.

I have my work cut out for me with him.  Only when all three elements are in place: 1) enough pain, 2) a clear vision, and 3) action will he be willing to let go of his current ways to doing business and try some new things.

I am convinced that building relationships is the way to build a successful small business today.  Whether it’s offline relationship-building activities, like consistent communication strategies like SendOutCards, or newsletters, or even one-on-one personal networking, or it’s online relationship-building activities like email, blogging, and social media strategies, no small business owner is going to be able to really experience the success he or she seeks without embracing a new vision and overcoming  resistance to change.

If you are dissatisfied with your current business, and are ready to seek out a new vision, then take that action and call me at 614-753-5979 or email me at SuccessPointConsulting@hotmail.com.  I’m ready and excited to help.  A more successful small business is in your future.

Until next time,

Here’s to helping you reach your Success Point,

Trina

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The Internet can be a big, intimidating place for anyone thinking of starting a new online business.  Much like the hungry person facing        the all-you-can-eat buffet, a small business owner goes online, sees so many programs and webinars and systems, each one shouting Buy Me!  Buy Me! that he can’t help but sample this and that.

But eventually, our new online business owners doesn’t feel so good.  His credit cards balances are bloated and credit limits are maxed.  He’s committed to several hundred dollars a month in website hosting , autoresponders, co-op advertising plans, and other various programs and systems.  He has 100 emails a day flooding his four email accounts, each one touting another sure-fire marketing program to buy.   He signed up for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Tagged, Friendster, and four other social networking programs.  He starts to spend time, not on building a business, but reading and deleting emails and tweets, writing on walls, bouncing around the internet to see if that NEW marketing system fills in a blank in his business plan he didn’t even know was there.  After two months, he becomes so discouraged by his lack of progress and overwhelmed by the sheer effort of just trying to keep up, he quits.

It’s okay.  Most of us have been there.  You are not a failure as an online business owner, you are human.  But you are also proof that online marketing works.

While there is no one solution that is perfect for everyone, here are four easy steps that should take you from overwhelmed newbie to money-making pro in record time.

1)  Make a Business and Marketing Plan and Stick to It

Finding your way through the myriad of opportunities online can be a daunting task.   And having the perseverance to work through the chosen program until you succeed is the difference between business success and failure.

Write out a game plan before you even buy your first domain name.  Do your due diligence.  Check out. your online competition.  Do an online search and see if the marketing program or online income system is getting good reviews in forums, on Squidoo, HubPages, in articles, and on blogs.  You have to read every review with a grain of salt, of course, but in my experience, I have not found a single program that didn’t have both pros and cons discussed somewhere.

Your first decision needs to be what kind of online business you want for yourself.  Some of your choices are:

1)  Promoting other people’s digital products as an affiliate

2)  Recruiting other marketers in a Multi-Level Marketing program

3)  Promoting your own products on your own websites

4)  Purchasing other people’s products to re-sell on your own websites or Ebay-type sites

Any of these business strategies can be successful.  There are people making hundreds of thousands of dollars each year doing each of these strategies.  But you can’t do them all at once.  It will make you crazy, unfocused, and ultimately, unsuccessful.  The marketing strategies that make digital-product affiliates successful are not exactly identical to the online marketing that works for Ebay.  There are similar concepts, but the devil is in the details.  Pick one type of online business and commit to it.  The other types of programs will still be out there after you’ve mastered your first choice.  The beauty of the Internet is that there are no limits.  Conversely, the problem with the Internet is there are no limits.  Give yourself the best shot at success.  Pick one online business, make a plan, and then work the plan until you succeed.

2)  Learn All You Can

Becoming a successful online business does not happen overnight.  Do not believe any program that says it’s easy.  If it says you are going to plug-in this program and viola’ you’ll make $30,000 in the next 3 months, it’s most probably a scam.  Could it happen?  Sure.  Will it happen for you if you are a complete newbie?  No.

3)  Set an Initial Budget and Stick to It

It’s so tempting.  Every program on the internet sounds like a winner.  It’s just another $197, and look, I’ll get $5,000 is free software that will let me beat Google Adsense at its own game.  Really.  Before you buy that first program, set a budget.  Do not spend a dime over that initial set budget UNTIL you have made your first sale.  This is a cardinal rule, and you shall not break it.  It doesn’t matter how tempting the offer sounds, if you have to spend more than you have budgeted, you can’t buy it.  Period.  There are tons of ways to promote products and services online for free or at little cost.  But even at a little cost, it can add up quickly.  The free methods take a little more time and effort to see results, but it’s worth it.

4)  Take Advantage of Any and All Support Offered

The most successful online business owners are the ones who reach out and take advantage of any and all help.  They participate in forums, they read blogs, they continually read and learn.  Take advantage of coaching programs if it’s within your budget.  If it’s not in your budget, use the free resources until you have made enough money to afford coaching.  The answers and solutions are out there.  You can find it if you look.

Building an online business takes time and effort, but for many, the rewards can be enormous.  Just stay focused and don’t give up.

If I can help you develop your online business plan, or create your online marketing strategy, please let me know.  Helping small businesses succeed is what I do.

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